Uprooted trees, potholes bring woes to Dhaka residents

After making a landfall on Monday, cyclone Sitrang downgraded to a depression, but the Dhaka residents still had to suffer yesterday due to the waterlogging caused by heavy rain accompanying the storm.

Traffic police in Uttara and Gulshan divisions yesterday advised people on their social media handles and websites to avoid those areas due to bad condition of the road.  The conditions did not improve till the report was filed Tuesday evening.

Traffic officials from different zones of the city said uprooted trees disrupted vehicle movement in many areas including Shantinagar, Rajarbagh, and ECB chattar.

Mustafizur Rahman, assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Gulshan traffic zone, said they had to pump out the water accumulated in the Banani rail crossing area.

"The roads adjacent to Banani graveyard were waterlogged till Tuesday evening as the drains there were not sufficient to carry the water," he added.

Mitali Sakrer Saha, a physician who traveled from Tongi Bazar area to Mowchak yesterday, said, "The journey from Gazipur to Dhaka was horrible. Only a small number of buses were plying on the roads. There were almost no vehicles from Gazipur to Airport and most of the commuters had to walk."

Photo: TBS

"There was a completely opposite picture on the road from Airport to Mohakhali, where vehicles got stuck in traffic jams for hours," she added.

Mohammad Faiz, assistant commissioner (traffic) of Gazipur Metropolitan Police's Tongi zone, told TBS that the ongoing BRT project has been hindering traffic movement in the area, and the heavy rainfall made the traffic jam worse there on Tuesday.

"Due to the renovation of the roads in the Millgate area, the traffic on the Mymensingh-bound lane normalised since Tuesday afternoon. However, the condition of the Dhaka-bound lane is still in a dire situation. We're trying our best to make the road usable by dumping brick chips and sand," he added.

GMP Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Alamgir Hossain said, "Discussions have been held with the BRT authorities regarding the renovation of dilapidated roads and potholes. However, it appears that the situation would not become normal within a short time."